Dark matter relic abundance beyond kinetic equilibrium

Abstract We introduce DRAKE, a numerical precision tool for predicting the dark matter relic abundance also in situations where the standard assumption of kinetic equilibrium during the freeze-out process may not be satisfied. DRAKE comes with a set of three dedicated Boltzmann equation solvers that...

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Main Authors: Tobias Binder, Torsten Bringmann, Michael Gustafsson, Andrzej Hryczuk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2021-07-01
Series:European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09357-5
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author Tobias Binder
Torsten Bringmann
Michael Gustafsson
Andrzej Hryczuk
author_facet Tobias Binder
Torsten Bringmann
Michael Gustafsson
Andrzej Hryczuk
author_sort Tobias Binder
collection DOAJ
description Abstract We introduce DRAKE, a numerical precision tool for predicting the dark matter relic abundance also in situations where the standard assumption of kinetic equilibrium during the freeze-out process may not be satisfied. DRAKE comes with a set of three dedicated Boltzmann equation solvers that implement, respectively, the traditionally adopted equation for the dark matter number density, fluid-like equations that couple the evolution of number density and velocity dispersion, and a full numerical evolution of the phase-space distribution. We review the general motivation for these approaches and, for illustration, highlight three concrete classes of models where kinetic and chemical decoupling are intertwined in a way that quantitatively impacts the relic density: (i) dark matter annihilation via a narrow resonance, (ii) Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation and (iii) ‘forbidden’ annihilation to final states that are kinematically inaccessible at threshold. We discuss all these cases in some detail, demonstrating that the commonly adopted, traditional treatment can result in an estimate of the relic density that is wrong by up to an order of magnitude. The public release of DRAKE, along with several examples of how to calculate the relic density in concrete models, is provided at drake.hepforge.org
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spelling doaj.art-b122ead0fa9748b78655e25c96644b542022-12-21T22:05:55ZengSpringerOpenEuropean Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields1434-60441434-60522021-07-0181712110.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09357-5Dark matter relic abundance beyond kinetic equilibriumTobias Binder0Torsten Bringmann1Michael Gustafsson2Andrzej Hryczuk3Kavli IPMU (WPI), UTIAS, The University of TokyoDepartment of Physics, University of OsloInstitute for Theoretical Physics, Georg-August University GöttingenNational Centre for Nuclear ResearchAbstract We introduce DRAKE, a numerical precision tool for predicting the dark matter relic abundance also in situations where the standard assumption of kinetic equilibrium during the freeze-out process may not be satisfied. DRAKE comes with a set of three dedicated Boltzmann equation solvers that implement, respectively, the traditionally adopted equation for the dark matter number density, fluid-like equations that couple the evolution of number density and velocity dispersion, and a full numerical evolution of the phase-space distribution. We review the general motivation for these approaches and, for illustration, highlight three concrete classes of models where kinetic and chemical decoupling are intertwined in a way that quantitatively impacts the relic density: (i) dark matter annihilation via a narrow resonance, (ii) Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation and (iii) ‘forbidden’ annihilation to final states that are kinematically inaccessible at threshold. We discuss all these cases in some detail, demonstrating that the commonly adopted, traditional treatment can result in an estimate of the relic density that is wrong by up to an order of magnitude. The public release of DRAKE, along with several examples of how to calculate the relic density in concrete models, is provided at drake.hepforge.orghttps://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09357-5
spellingShingle Tobias Binder
Torsten Bringmann
Michael Gustafsson
Andrzej Hryczuk
Dark matter relic abundance beyond kinetic equilibrium
European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields
title Dark matter relic abundance beyond kinetic equilibrium
title_full Dark matter relic abundance beyond kinetic equilibrium
title_fullStr Dark matter relic abundance beyond kinetic equilibrium
title_full_unstemmed Dark matter relic abundance beyond kinetic equilibrium
title_short Dark matter relic abundance beyond kinetic equilibrium
title_sort dark matter relic abundance beyond kinetic equilibrium
url https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09357-5
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AT michaelgustafsson darkmatterrelicabundancebeyondkineticequilibrium
AT andrzejhryczuk darkmatterrelicabundancebeyondkineticequilibrium